Alate aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) species composition and richness in Northeastern USA snap beans and an update to historical lists

Abstract

Recent aphid-vectored viruses in the northeastern U.S. led to extensive surveys of aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) species composition. We report the species composition and richness of alate aphids associated with processing snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.; Fabales: Fabaceae) agroecosystems from field surveys conducted during 5 yr in New York and 3 yr in Pennsylvania. Rates of species accumulation were similar between the 2 states, and asymptotic, suggesting reasonably adequate sampling intensity. Our results suggest that about 95 to 100 aphid species are present as alates within these agroecosystems, a surprisingly high percentage (∼14 to 18%) of the total aphid richness. Host records suggest that 61% of the alate aphid species we collected from pan traps placed within snap bean fields were dispersing through this agroecosystem, originating from woody plants in the surrounding landscape. We compiled this information with a recent study of aphid species composition from peach orchards and an exhaustive inspection of museum samples, and present an updated list of the aphid species in Pennsylvania.